Senator Blanch Lincoln has royally pissed me off.

Yesterday Senator Lincoln announced that she would be a cosponsor of the Murkowski resolution that prevents the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases. (Read the news here.)

I do not normally wade into politics on the blog.  Most of my political opinions I reserve for friends over a few frosty brews.  I do, however, keep up with the political fray and there are some issues that I care about passionately.  Climate Change is one of those issues.  There is simply no excuse for not acting now.

Throughout the Bush administration Republicans resisted taking action on climate change and said, “the science is not in yet.”  We know now this was a lie propagated by the oil and natural gas industry.

Now the naysayers are coming at it from a different angle.  “We have to take it slow so as not to wreck our economy.”  Bullshit.  We can accomplish strong climate change legislation AND strengthen our economy. What these folks really mean is “We need to protect the oil and natural gas companies who have given millions to our reelection campaigns.”

Blanche Lincoln, Arkansas senator since 1998, is among those senators.  I didn’t want to believe it.  I wanted to believe her website where she says:

Most importantly, I believe our country should focus on a long-term investment strategy in renewable and alternative energy sources, which will pave a road to energy independence.

Or how about this one:

Having been raised in a seventh generation farm family in Arkansas, I grew up with a love of nature and a great respect for the conservation of land and water resources.  I value our environment and want to find ways to best protect it for wildlife and for our enjoyment.”

Senator Lincoln has clothed herself in this narrative of the humble little farm girl who just loves the natural world. She’s done so even as she’s taken more and more money from the Agri-business industry, which has effectively killed the family farm she claims to love, and the Oil and Gas Industry, which is destroying both our economy and our environment.  (Don’t even get me started on her refusal to support a public option for health care, even as she pockets thousands of  dollars from Blue Cross Blue Shield).

If you want to see who is donating to Senator Lincoln check out the Federal Election Commission for a comprehsive list.  Open Secrets, a governement watchdog organization, also provides a summary view if you don’t feel like wading through the thousands of donors.

The text of the resolution is not yet up on Thomas.gov. It will be there once the EPA issues their rules. You can check out the Congressional Register if you’d like to read what Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski has to say for herself. It is shocking that someone who is so obviously in the pocket of the energy industry can say with a straight face that she is concerned for the American people. The words I have for this hypocrisy are not kind, and I’m biting my lip as I write this. (The ruling yesterday of the currently ultra-corporate dupes in the Supreme Court just further demonstrates the deep rift between “we the people” and our government).

If you live in Arkansas, call Senator Lincoln and tell her to withdraw her support for the Murkowski Resolution.  Visit her website lincoln.senate.gov. Her telephone in Washington is 202-224-4843 . Calling may not matter, she’s too deep in the pockets of corporate interests, but she should at least know that her constituents see her for what she is: another cog in the greed machine.